[Twilight Time] The "Thou Shalt Not's" of Roleplaying a Character

[Heather Grove]

April 20, 2005 -- The "Thou Shalt Not's" of Roleplaying a Character
Volume 6, Issue 4

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Good morning!

I think you'll find this issue will apply to more than just tabletop 
roleplaying; it has some applicability to MMORPG roleplay, forum-play, 
and so on, although of course some of the details will change.

Not much else to babble about today, so I'll skip straight to the 
article. Have a great day!

Heather

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The "Thou Shalt Not's" of Roleplaying a Character

1. Thou Shalt Not Substitute "Thee" and "Thou" for Actual Roleplaying

Some people seem to think that simply using words like thee, thou, and 
thy constitutes roleplaying, even when they're inappropriate to the 
setting. Actually, while some people can get into character that way, I 
find it often gets in the way. People are concentrating so hard on 
talking differently that they aren't ever really getting into their 
character's *personality*; the stilted language ends up substituting 
for actual roleplaying. Besides, way too many people mangle their 
attempt to use those words and end up sounding silly.

Note that things like unusual accents and speech patterns fall under 
here too. Again, they *can* work very well--I'm not saying you 
shouldn't use them at all--but you need to be sure you aren't simply 
substituting them for roleplaying a character's personality.

Yes, I put this first for irony's sake, since I'm using the "thou 
shalt" construction.


2. Thou Shalt Not Strive to be the Center of All Attention

This one is a little tricky. Some people just have wild imaginations, 
and this can be mistaken for an attempt to usurp attention through 
creating unusual characters or giving their characters complex 
backstory. However, usually the true attention-seekers will show their 
colors in other ways as well, such as by attempting to shut other 
characters out of portions of the action, or by attempting to take on 
roles that require the other players to bow to them and show them 
respect in some way. They might also try to insert themselves into 
other characters' important moments and take them over.

It's fine to want some spotlight time; that is, inherently, a part of 
what roleplaying is about, after all. It isn't fine when you do it at 
the expense of everyone else around your table (or in your forum, 
etc.)--roleplaying is a social activity, and requires that you share 
the spotlight with others.


3. Thou Shalt Not Strive to Lord It Over Thy Teammates

Sometimes it works out fine to have the player characters (PCs) be of 
different ranks, and to have one or more be of lower ranks than others. 
Sometimes it doesn't. There's a difference between being a leader and 
being a tyrant or dictator. A PC who is a leader can be fine (assuming 
the other players are okay with this--not everyone will feel 
comfortable with it), but a PC who is a dictator or tyrant just makes 
everyone else unhappy. Note that not all dictators and tyrants are 
obvious. Some are good at looking like nice guys while throwing their 
weight around in more subtle ways. (See #4.)


4. Thou Shalt Not Make the Game About You

This one overlaps with #2, but there are subtler ways to try to make 
games be about you and your character. For example, I've seen people go 
deep into a role of being generous, benevolent mentors to "younger" 
characters (particularly in an MMORPG setting). It seems really nice of 
them at first, until you gradually come to notice how much they love 
the role of having people call them "lord" or "lady" and say thank you 
to them all the time, and they'll keep people from actually going out 
and doing anything so that those people can spend more time bowing to 
them. There can be a fine line between wanting to help people because 
you're a cool person, and wanting to help people because you want to 
feel loved and appreciated and superior. Make sure you're staying on 
the former side of the line--the latter is a form of manipulation, and 
will eventually make others resentful.


5. Thou Shalt Not Use Roleplaying as an Excuse for Bad Behavior

Don't create a womanizing character just so you can get away with being 
crass toward female characters. Don't create an amoral thief just so 
you have an excuse to steal from the party and say "it's in character!" 
There's a difference between playing your character and creating a 
character trait simply as an excuse for bad behavior. It can be 
interesting to create characters with "bad" personality traits and 
explore the use and consequences of those traits. However, that's 
worlds apart from using your character's personality as an excuse to 
behave like a creep.

Remember that bad behavior has consequences. If you create a character 
with annoying or amoral personality traits, you need to expect that 
this will have in-game consequences. If that's something you and your 
game master (GM) want to explore, great. But you can't expect your GM 
to set aside in-game consequences just because you did something "in 
character." Well, guess what? The world is reacting "in character" too!


6. Thou Shalt Not Allow Real Life to Enter the Game

Now, I'm not talking about giving the game priority over real life 
(real life is more important). What I mean is this: don't allow strong 
real-life opinions and attitudes to override your character in the game 
and cause problems. For example, if you're having problems with one of 
the other players at the table, try to set aside those problems; don't 
have your character do something horrid to the other character just 
because you're mad at the player. If you're zealously religious and 
your character isn't, it might not make sense for your character to 
take offense at a non-player character's (NPC's) bigoted comment (or it 
might--but be sure you're reacting from your character's morals, not 
yours). Don't derail the game with out-of-game arguments about politics 
and such--save those for your own time, unless your group likes and 
encourages a relaxed game in which people stop to have conversations 
about other things (I'm not sure I've ever seen a group do this, but 
I'm sure there are some somewhere).


The "Thou Shalts" of Roleplaying

1. Thou Shalt Give Thy Teammates a Chance to Shine, Too

Let everyone have their time in the spotlight. Don't feel the need to 
always jump in and be a part of everything. Once in a while, make sure 
you sit back and watch, allowing someone else to be the center of 
attention. Similarly, make sure you let others have a chance to help 
influence and make decisions. Even if your character is nominally in 
charge, take input from the others and allow it to influence you. Take 
others' concerns seriously. When others are the center of attention, 
don't pull out a book or a newspaper or shut your eyes to sleep unless 
things are going to be long and extended, or someone is themselves 
abusing the spotlight and shutting you out of the action.


2. Thou Shalt Put Some Effort into Thy Character

You don't have to go crazy. You don't have to write 30 pages of 
backstory. But if you're in a group that encourages roleplaying, try to 
at least put a minimal amount of effort into creating a 
three-dimensional character. Don't just be "the fighter" or a blatant 
rip-off of a character from the latest movie you saw. Here you'll find 
a few articles that might help you if you aren't sure where to start:

http://www.burningvoid.com/rpg/plcharacter.php


3. Thou Shalt Work with the GM

Take the viewpoint that you and the GM are members of the same team. 
Some groups end up seeing themselves as being in some sort of 
competition or struggle with the GM, and trust me, except in some rare 
circumstances where people can do this all in fun, this usually makes 
things pretty annoying for your GM (and detracts from your own 
experience, whether you realize it or not). Listen to the GM, help him 
out, and try to work together as a team with the other players, even if 
your characters don't always get along.


4. Thou Shalt Behave Thyself

Roleplaying is a social activity; it requires you to exhibit at least a 
minimal amount of social skills and teamwork. If you act like a selfish 
jackass, no one is going to want you at their table. Every once in a 
while, stop and make sure you're considering your teammates. Are you 
taking their needs and wants into account? Are you having empathy for 
their feelings? Are you giving them a chance to share the spotlight? 
Are you working with them (as players) rather than against them?

Your characters don't always have to get along and work together 
(plenty of people have a lot of fun playing fractious groups), but the 
players need to have some sense of propriety and ability to work 
together. This doesn't mean that you have to be mannerly and polite; 
some groups are comfortable enough together that they can name-call and 
insult and be perfectly happy with each other. But you do need to have 
a fundamental respect for each other at some basic level.

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Heather Grove
heather at burningvoid.com
http://www.burningvoid.com/

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